ROVER Motorcycles

At the beginning of the twentieth century, all well-known motorcycle manufacturers offered so-called "Forecars" or "Motor Tandems". This was quite in line with the customer's wishes: some did not dare to buy a motorcycle, while others found the maintenance of an automobile too costly. This trend was not only true in Great Britain. He probably came from France, but manufacturers in Germany and the USA also offered such vehicles.

There were different variants: Single wheel at the front, single wheel at the rear, four wheels, with or without body - there were almost no limits to your imagination. Of course there were also variants for the transport of goods, which had already existed as bicycles.

In addition to the basic and luxury versions, ROVER also offered its " motor tandem " in several other versions, whose equipment was closer to that of the luxury version, without offering its special features such as the steering wheel or the hand lever brake borrowed from the car. This is also indicated by the illustration of the advertisement of November 1, 1904, which only refers to two versions in the text, but in the illustration shows a water-cooled model with handlebars. There also seems to have been a wider choice of seats for passengers - single and double seats.

Unfortunately, there is hardly any information on this - and we do not want to participate in speculations.

The main distinguishing feature is the type of drive, belt and chain were available. At that time for many also an ideological dispute, which was fought out in the gazettes with great vehemence. The cooling concept - air or water - could also be discussed very controversially.

The Radiator

The water cooler is the only detail that complements the technical details of the Imperial Rover 3 h.p. motorcycle. Unfortunately, there are no further details, also regarding the water-cooled engine.

More technical details about the 3 h.p. motorcycle ⇒ view here.

Details and instructions for operating the 3 h.p. motorcycle ⇒ view here.

The automatic ROVER carburettor is described in detail and ⇒ can be seen here.

The top model with water cooling, two-speed gearbox, chain drive, side- and foot brakes costs £85, the air-cooled standard version costs £65.

Sources
	1904 Price List of the Rover Motor Cycle "Aut optimum aut nihil" The Rover Cycle Co., Ltd., Meteor Works, Coventry
	1905 Price List of the Imperial Rover Motors "Aut optimum aut nihil" Second Edition The Rover Cycle Co., Ltd., Meteor Works, Coventry
Even then the motto Mercedes-Benz now uses: "The best or nothing".
	1906 Small Brochure of Rover Motor Cycles The Rover Cycle Co., Ltd., Meteor Works, Coventry